Kaohsiung builds Taiwan-US silicon photonics platform to target AI data-transfer demand

Kaohsiung is positioning a new Taiwan-US research center as a bridge between semiconductor manufacturing, university research and the growing need for faster AI data transfers.

National Sun Yat-sen University and the University of Arizona announced the creation of the Silicon Photonics Arizona-Kaohsiung Center, known as SPARK. Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Lo Ta-sheng attended the launch, alongside representatives from Arizona, Pima County, the University of Arizona and more than 20 semiconductor and optoelectronics companies.

The center will link Kaohsiung with Tucson, described as the United States' "Optics Valley." Its planned work spans advanced research, workforce training and industrial applications. Lo said Kaohsiung's semiconductor corridor includes TSMC's 2-nanometer advanced process, ASE's expanding advanced-packaging operations and research partnerships at Sun Yat-sen University.

SPARK will establish practical training sites in Kaohsiung, Tucson and Phoenix. The universities plan dual-degree programs, cross-border microprograms and certificate courses, giving students opportunities to receive interdisciplinary training in Taiwan and the United States. Companies will receive early access to talent trained through the center.

The research agenda will center on artificial intelligence, silicon photonics and semiconductors. It will address data centers' demand for high-speed, high-volume and low-energy transmission by developing optical-transmission and advanced-packaging technologies.